A Highlands property that a volunteer group hopes to turn into a municipal park will be open to the public on a limited basis.
The Greater Victoria Greenbelt Society acquired the property at Mary Lake on Dec. 23 for $2.6 million.
The property will be open to the public for walkabouts on the first Sunday of each month.
Self-guided walks with a map of the trails will be available from1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and guided walks will be hosted from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Children should be accompanied by an adult at all times and visitors should remain on marked trails and avoid disturbing wildlife.
The property will be closed to the public at other times, and a full-time caretaker will be on site.
The Greater Victoria Greenbelt Society plans to raise funds through grants, partnerships and fundraising campaigns to pay off the mortgage so it can become a municipal nature park, it said.
The society is starting the application for a subdivision necessary to create a 25-acre section along the south and west part of the property for a regional trail corridor.
It will also create a 10-acre lot along Millstream Road, which may be put up for sale if the society does not meet its fundraising goals in the next two years.
Until Sunday, every donation of $100 or more to the Mary Lake Acquisition Fund will be matched, up to a total of $18,000.
